EP0924352B1 - Inspection chamber for underground pipe system - Google Patents

Abstract

The inspection chamber consists of a cylindrical body (1). The body is set in the ground, is closed at its lower end by a shaped base (2) and has an opening at the top for access. The body and base have annular grooves (3,4) which are aligned when the base is fitted into position, and they are then joined together and sealed by injecting a substance (5) into the grooves. The base also has a series of outer projections (10) with recesses (11) to receive pipes fitted at various angles.

Description

The present invention relates to an inspection chamber buried, such as manhole, manhole or similar, especially for monitoring and maintenance of underground networks.

It relates more particularly to a bedroom type inspection of at least one body buried tubular interposed in a distribution circuit or evacuation of fluids by gravity flow, this body, closed at its bottom by a bottom element profile or cunette, presenting at its upper part a access port through which it is possible to inspect said circuit.

Buried inspection chambers, also called manholes manhole, manhole, manhole or similar, are intended to allow the introduction of apparatus or people in a buried network location in sight to monitor and maintain the network while ensuring the hydraulic continuity of the effluents.

Inspection chambers have long been made exclusively of concrete. However, the use concrete has shown its limits, especially in terms of Environmental Protection. Inspection chambers in plastic material appeared on the market because of two major advantages, namely their low weight and their tightness.

Inspection chambers currently on the market are of the so-called monobloc type insofar as the bottom of the chamber equipped with a hydraulic drain and part of the side walls of the chamber are made in one piece, the rest of the body being obtained by assembly elements such as an extension and a head element or reducer which delimit the access opening in the chamber. These body elements are tightly assembled by welding or by means of joints.

The main disadvantage of such a room results from the monobloc design of the chamber bottom and part side walls of this chamber forcing the production of a large room. Now, because dimensions of the part to be manufactured, the techniques of manufacturing are limited. Generally, this piece is made of rotational molded or extruded molded polyethylene. It results from large variations in the size of a part to another. This dimensional imprecision can have serious consequences, particularly in terms of profiles of the bottom side of the part. This can lead to hydraulic circuit disturbances. The result also deformations of the part, linked to the absence resistance of the latter. The regulations relating to the inspection chambers requires, in given pressure and vacuum conditions of the chamber, a deformation of the bottom side of the room lower than a predetermined value. In as a result, the one-piece design of the chamber prevents compliance with the standards imposed.

Another problem with these inspection chambers is their adaptation to any length depending on the site to equip. Indeed, in this case, the part of the bottom of the body has walls of defined heights. The result the obligation to use other elements, such as extensions, to obtain the desired body height. Of this fact, such inspection chambers require the storage of a large number of parts. In addition, each part must be joined to another by a joint. In Consequently, the assembly and installation time of a such room is important. In addition, holding in the the sealing time of these different bonds remains random.

For all the reasons mentioned above, it appears better to design a room whose bottom is manufactured independently of the body used for delimitation of the side walls of the chamber.

However, the installations manufactured to date on this have not had the expected commercial success because they were not satisfactory in terms of sealing and mechanical strength of the connection between the chamber body and back of the room.

The object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the disadvantages mentioned above by offering a room buried inspection type including body and independently produced bottom element, body and bottom element being assembled in such a way that they guarantee watertightness and mechanical strength of the set identical to a set made in one piece.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a buried inspection chamber with assembly time reduced and the possibility of adaptation to a height of any site are important without requiring as much the storage of various parts.

To this end the invention relates to a room buried inspection, such as manhole, hole of man or the like, of the type consisting of at least one body buried tubular interposed in a distribution circuit or evacuation of fluids, this body, closed in its part lower by a profiled bottom element or cunette, having at its upper part an orifice for access to through which it is possible to inspect said circuit, characterized in that the tubular body and the element of profiled bottom or cunette each have a groove peripheral provided respectively, on the internal face of the body and on the external face of the bottom element, these throats coming opposite during an introduction usually by dint of the cunette in the body, the throat internal peripheral of the body comprising at least one orifice communicating with the outside of the tubular body to allow the injection of a filling material said grooves, this material ensuring both the tightness and mechanical strength of the connection by axial immobilization between tubular body and element profiled bottom.

Thanks to this conception of the connection between body and bottom element, we get an inspection chamber meeting the regulations on the one hand in matters on the other hand in terms of resistance to given pressure or depression since there is no found no deformation of the bottom element of the bedroom.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the chamber cunnette consists of a base in the thickness of which is provided peripherally the external groove for receiving the filling material, this base being provided on one of its faces with a peripheral toothing in the form of a crenellated annular crown, each niche constituting a departure pending for the possible connection of a fluid inlet or outlet pipe introduced to the interior of said chamber through an opening of the body wall arranged in correspondence with the so that the fluid inlet or outlet lines are organized in radiant arrangement around said bedroom.

la figure 1 représente une vue d'ensemble d'une chambre, la paroi étant supposée transparente,

la figure 2 représente une vue schématique illustrant la liaison entre élément de fond profilé et corps de chambre et

la figure 3 représente une vue en perspective d'une cunette conforme à l'invention.

The invention will be clearly understood on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents an overall view of a chamber, the wall being assumed to be transparent,

FIG. 2 represents a schematic view illustrating the connection between the profiled bottom element and the chamber body and

FIG. 3 represents a perspective view of a cunette according to the invention.

The buried inspection chamber, object of the invention, is constituted in a known manner of a tubular body 1 arranged vertically inside excavations carried out in the ground on the path of a distribution network or evacuation of fluids.

As already stated above, such a room inspection performs two main functions. Her first function is to allow monitoring of the network by means of materials or people introduced to the interior of the chamber for maintenance, network maintenance and / or renovation. A second function of this room is to provide continuity hydraulic flow through the effluents. These effluents can be of various origins: rain, urban, industrial ... Obviously, other fluids can be brought through such a room. Networks incorporating such inspection chambers are designed to have to resist at least ten years. They therefore require a permanent inspection and control.

The body 1 is buried vertically and closed at its part lower by a profiled bottom element or cunette 2.

In a manner known per se, this body 1 is generally made up of several elements. In the example shown in Figure 1, this body 1 has at its upper part an access port through which it is possible to inspect said circuit. This body access port is delimited by means of a head element 6 or reducer assembled to the rest of the body, usually by means of a attached. This head element 6 is equipped with a cover 16 or closing pad placed at ground level. This cover or closing pad is generally made of cast iron.

To increase the durability of such a room inspection, it is necessary to reduce the charges rolling to be supported by the room inspection. To do this, a lost annular formwork 7 is threaded onto the head element 6 of the body 1 and supports the closing element 16 of the head element 6. This annular formwork 7, said load distributor, isolates the body 1 of rolling loads. This load balancer therefore plays the role of floating slab. It is essential that it be detached from the head element 6 of the bedroom. This load-sharing element 7 will therefore rest on compacted soil. This annular formwork 7 is therefore, after the installation of the chamber body in a site previously cleared, filled with concrete ensuring rigidity of the whole.

As has already been specified above, the body 1 of the chamber is closed at its lower part by a profiled bottom element 2 or wedge. Body 1 and bottom element 2 are made of synthetic material for the reasons explained above, namely lightness and insensitivity to aggressive effluents in particular H ₂ S. The bottom element 2 is in particular made of polyurethane. This bottom element 2 is molded by low pressure injection of said polyurethane.

Because the bottom element 2 is completely independent, at the time of its manufacture, of the body of the room it is possible to get a background element which the structure has an increasing density gradient of the central part towards the external faces of said element thus giving it a mechanical structure equivalent to an H beam, in which each face of the bottom element corresponds to a branch of H. For this do, the polyurethane material is injected so that this material will be much more compact in the outer part of the room while it it will be much less in the central part of the room. One thus obtains, by means of this manufacture by injection, an H-structure of said part 2 itself giving good mechanical strength greater than identical compact structure, especially when the inspection chamber is subjected to the action of a sheet phreatic.

The tubular body 1 and the profiled bottom element or cunette 2 must be assembled in such a way that perfect sealing and mechanical strength are obtained at the connection between tubular body 1 and element profiled bottom 2. To do this, the tubular body 1 and the bottom element 2 respectively have one a internal peripheral groove 3, the other a throat external device 4, said grooves 3,4 being arranged to come next when introducing the cunette 2 in the body 1. This introduction of the cunette 2 in the body 1 is usually done by force. Indeed, from preferably, the cunette 2 is dimensioned so that that it fits perfectly in the body 1 of the room inspection. Because of this perfect adaptation of the Cunette 2 in the body 1 of the chamber, we solve also the problem of the initial ovalization of the bodies of room.

The internal peripheral groove 3 of the body 1 formed on the internal face of said body comprises at least one orifice 14 communicating with the outside of the tubular body 1 for allow the injection of a filling material 5 into grooves 3 and 4. This material 5 provides both tightness and mechanical strength of the connection like this has been clarified above. This material 5 is generally polyurethane. Depending on the characteristics of the filling material, it is sometimes necessary to have two orifices 14 and 15 communicating with the exterior of the body 1. In this case, one of the orifices 14 is used for the injection of this material, the other orifice 15 at degassing of the spaces to be filled during injection of the material 5. Similarly, during injecting the filler it can be necessary to use a template housed inside the chamber resting on the bottom element 2. This template allows to limit the creep of the filling material 5, this creep being shown in Figure 2.

The external groove 4 for receiving the filling material 5 of the cunette 2 is formed in the thickness of a base of the cunette on the periphery of the latter. This the base of the cunette is also provided, on one of its sides, of peripheral teeth 10 under the form of a crenellated annular crown. This crown is intended to come to be applied more or less closely against the internal walls of the body 1 of the chamber inspection once the bottom element 2 is positioned at inside the body 1.

Each slot 11 of this crown is arranged to come opposite an orifice 9 capable of being formed in the wall of the chamber body for connection of a line 8 for inlet or outlet of fluid to said bedroom.

Indeed, the body 1 is originally presented in the form of a simple tube comprising a peripheral groove 3 formed on its inner wall. This tubular body has on its outer wall marking marks of holes 9 to be drilled for connecting pipes 8 to said body. So, it is the user who decides on site the number of orifices 9 to be practiced in said body in depending on the connections to be made. This results in a great versatility of the inspection chamber suitable for adapt to multiple network configurations. In one another embodiment, shown in Figure 1, the tubular body already has a hole made in the factory for the connection of a fluid outlet pipe 8, the other orifices being made on site. In that case, the hole is closed by means of a removable mounted plug on said body 1.

In the same way, the use of a body presenting itself in the form of a simple tube allows easy adaptation and from the length of the tube to the height of the site to equip. Indeed, these tubes are tubes of heights standards redesigned on site or in the factory up to par necessary for site equipment. It is for this reason that in most cases only one element of head 6 will be required to complete the body of the tube. A such use of a body made on the basis of a simple tube also significantly reduces the number of parts to be stored.

Once the opening (s) 9 (s) are made in the wall of the body the user can introduce through each orifice a pipe 8 which is generally a pipe fluid inlet when the embodiment of the body 1 is of the type described above.

As each slot 11 of the cunette 2 presents on its around a shoulder 13 forming a stop during the axial introduction of an inlet pipe 8 or fluid outlet through an orifice 9 formed in correspondence of the niche 11 in the wall of the body 1 of room, the user is effortlessly assured of correct positioning of the pipe 8 inside said room.

As shown in Figure 3, the profiled element 2 has at least one slot 11 corresponding to a fluid inlet and at least one slot 11A corresponding to an output of fluid of said chamber, each slot 11 of inlet of fluid being connected to at least one outlet slot of fluid 11A by a hydraulic profile 12 formed on the surface from the base of the cunette this profile ensuring a flow directional of the fluid inside the cunette. So, in the example shown in Figure 3, the bottom element profile 2 has at most five fluid inlets and one common fluid outlet, each hydraulic profile 12 being directed from a fluid inlet towards the common exit. By hydraulic profile is meant a shape curved, similar to a gutter profile, arranged at the surface of the base of the profiled bottom element 2, this shape being profiled to ensure flow direction of the flow of fluid entering said chamber.

Thanks to such an embodiment of the cunette, it it is possible to reduce the stock of gears to one standard part. This piece can adapt to any type regardless of the number of lines to connect, this number being at most equal to six in the example shown.

Claims (9)

1. Underground inspection chamber, such as an inspection port, manhole or the like, of the type comprising at least one buried tubular body (1) incorporated in a fluid distribution or drainage or network, this body (1), which is closed at the bottom by a shaped base element (2) or drain, having at the top an access opening through which it is possible to inspect the said network,
   characterised in that the tubular body (1) and the shaped base element (2) or drain each have a peripheral groove provided on the inner surface of the body (1) and on the outer surface of the base element (2), respectively, these grooves (3,4) coming face to face with one another on the introduction, generally by force, of the drain (2) into the body (1), the internal peripheral groove (3) of the body (1) having at least one hole (14) communicating with the outside of the tubular body (1) to allow the injection of a material (5) for filling the said grooves (3,4), this material (5) ensuring both the tightness and the mechanical stability of the link by means of axial immobilisation of the tubular body (1) with respect to shaped base element (2).
2. Inspection chamber according to Claim 1,
   characterised in that the drain (2) consists of a base within the thickness of which the external groove (4) for receiving the filling material (5) is provided around the periphery, this base being equipped on one of its faces with peripheral crenellation (10) in the form of a indented annular collar, each indentation (11,11A) constituting a starting point in readiness for the possible connection of an inlet or outlet pipe (8) for fluid introduced into the said chamber through an opening (9) in the wall of the body (1), said opening (9) being provided to correspond with the indentation (11,11A), such that the inlet and outlet pipes (8) are arranged in a radiating pattern around the said chamber.
3. Inspection chamber according to Claim 2,
   characterised in that the shaped element (2) has at least one indentation (11) corresponding to a fluid inlet into the said chamber and at least one indentation (11A) corresponding to a fluid outlet from the said chamber, each fluid inlet indentation being connected to at least one fluid outlet indentation by a hydraulic section (12) recessed into the surface of the base, this section (12) ensuring a directional flow of the fluid within the drain (2).
4. Inspection chamber according to one of Claims 2 and 3,
   characterised in that each indentation (11,11A) has a shoulder (13) around its periphery, said shoulder (13) forming a stop during the axial introduction of a fluid inlet or outlet pipe (8) through an opening (9) provided, to correspond with the indentation (11,11A), in the wall of the body (1) of the chamber.
5. Inspection chamber according to one of Claims 1 to 4,
   characterised in that the tubular body (1) and the drain (2) are made of synthetic material, the drain (2) preferably being made of polyurethane.
6. Inspection chamber according to one of Claims 1 to 5,
   characterised in that the drain (2) is an injection-moulded component having a density gradient that increases from the central portion towards its external surfaces.
7. Inspection chamber according to one of Claims 1 to 6,
   characterised in that the tubular body (1) of the chamber has location markings on its outside wall for openings (9) to be drilled for connection of fluid inlet pipes (8) to the said body (1).
8. Inspection chamber according to one of Claims 1 to 7,
   characterised in that the access opening in the body (1) of the chamber is delimited by means of a top element (6), or reducer, mounted on the remainder of the body, this top element (6) being equipped with a cap (16) or manhole cover, fitted flush with the ground.
9. Inspection chamber according to Claim 8,
   characterised in that a lost annular formwork (7) is attached in a non-load-bearing manner to the top element (6) of the body (1) and supports the closure, element (16) of the top element (6), this annular formwork (7), termed load distributor, insulating the body (1) of the chamber against loads imposed by moving traffic.

Images